Some good, some bad for Riverbend schools in annual Illinois Report Card

Some good, some bad for Riverbend schools in annual Illinois Report Card

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ALTON — The annual Illinois Report Card showed some progress in state testing among local school districts, while others continue to lag behind — and in some cases, fall further below — the state average.

The report cards, released Tuesday, brought good news for the state on a number of levels. Student outcomes improved in English language arts achievement on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessment, the four-year graduation rate, college enrollment rates, Advanced Placement participation and success, the community college remediation rate, ninth-grade students on track to graduate, and eighth-grade students passing Algebra I.

“The 2017 Illinois Report Card demonstrates our students’ and educators’ tremendous capacity for growth,” said State Superintendent of Education Tony Smith, Ph.D. “We are making real progress. Our educators and educational leaders are diving into the data to uncover what’s working and to identify new strategies and partnerships to support the whole child. At the Those Who Excel banquet on Saturday, I had the opportunity to honor hundreds of extraordinary educators who are doing exceptional work. We have so much talent in our state. We need to accelerate the growth we’re seeing by facilitating connections and knowledge-sharing between schools and districts.”

Total enrollment grew slightly, to 2,041,779 from 2,028,162 in 2016, among the state’s 852 school districts. The number of students meeting or exceeding standards on state tests also grew year over year, hitting 34.5 percent in 2016-17 as compared to 33.2 percent last year and 32.9 percent in 2014-15.

Locally, Wood River-Hartford School District 15, East Alton School District 13 and Bethalto CUSD 8 saw notable steps forward in their state testing metrics. Jersey CUSD 100, Edwardsville CUSD 7 and Southwestern CUSD 9 also saw growth from year to year.

“We were extremely pleased with the progress we made this year and there were many factors in our improving,” Anderson said in an email. “A lot of credit has to go to our teachers, (Response to Intervention) instructors, and administrators for placing a lot of focus on the Illinois Learning Standards and getting the most out of our curriculum.”

Bethalto Superintendent Jill Griffin said an increased focus on data, both for individual students and groups, is one of the ways in which the district has worked to improve its students’ test scores. Bethalto saw its number of students meeting or exceeding expectations jump more than 3 percentage points, from 27.4 percent last year to 30.9 percent this year.

“I think we’ve created a focus on data,” Griffin said. “Every year in July we gather our data — local data, PARCC data, SAT/ACT data — and we make adjustments.

“We are seeing growth, gradual growth. As long as we can continue to increase … we’re going to continue to be pleased with those gains.”

The Alton School District was among those that saw a drop in overall student performance from year to year. The district’s percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations went from 24.9 percent in 2015-16 — still below the statewide mark for that period of time — to 21.3 percent in 2016-17. East Alton-Wood River District 14, Roxana CUSD 1, Bunker Hill CUSD 8 and Carrollton CUSD 1 also saw a downturn in state testing in 2017.

Alton Assistant Superintendent Kristie Baumgartner said that while there’s still work to do, the district takes away some positives from growth in certain areas of testing.

“When we look at specific grade levels and schools, there are increases in some areas and decreases in others. The areas in reading and math where students increased performance are very promising,” Baumgartner said. “However, there is still cause for concern where our scores decreased and the overall decrease on average. PARCC is definitely a rigorous test. When you consider only 33 percent of Illinois’ students, on average, demonstrated proficiency on state standards last year, it is a clear indication that there is significant work ahead.”

One area that continues to factor into districts’ performance on the standardized tests is the number of low-income students. Of the local districts that saw a downturn in scores, only Bunker Hill’s 45.1 percent was below the state average of 50.2 percent of students considered low-income. Alton’s rose from 54.4 percent to 57.3 percent in the past year.

“Like many urban areas across the state, Alton’s low-income rate also saw a slight increase over the prior year,” Baumgartner said. “While there are some challenges relative to the specific needs and lack of readiness skills for some students living in poverty, our teachers work very hard to ensure those needs are met. Teachers truly maintain high expectations for the academic success of all students and that is absolutely imperative. “